LEGAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT (FULL-TIME)
THE ORGANIZATION
Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors (NIJFON) mission is to provide free, high-quality immigration legal services; engage in education and advocacy; and build cross-cultural communities. Our vision is a world where immigrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees are welcomed, supported, and able to live without fear. NIJFON represents low-income immigrant communities throughout Northern Illinois. Please visit our website for more information: www.nijfon.org.
THE POSITION
The Legal Administrative Assistant will work with current NIJFON legal staff to perform and support general office operations, client management, scheduling, outreach, and other programmatic activities, including education and advocacy. We are seeking an Administrative Legal Assistant to help provide high-quality services to our clients and to expand our education and advocacy efforts while we increase our capacity to meet the growing need for our services.
This position is based in Chicago, Illinois, with significant opportunities for remote work.
DUTIES
- Assist the legal team with research, form preparation, document acquisition, and client meetings;
- Maintain client files and regularly update and maintain our case management system;
- Maintain office calendars and keep track of important dates, such as filing deadlines, interviews, and court appearances;
- Communicate with clients, government officials, and other stakeholders;
- Review and respond to voice messages, emails, and other communications;
- Schedule new and existing client appointments in collaboration with the legal team;
- Engage in general office administrative assistant duties, including, but not limited to: copying, mailing, scanning, shredding, filing, etc.
- Help prepare immigration-related applications and compile submissions to government agencies;
- Process incoming and outgoing mail; and
- As time and capacity allow, work with other NIJFON team members on outreach, advocacy, and educational programs.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
The legal administrative assistant should have a strong commitment to public interest legal service and to the enfranchisement and empowerment of immigrant communities. Justice for Our Neighbors is more than a legal service project; it is a faith-based organization involving many diverse individuals, cultures, and faith traditions who come together to welcome immigrants to our community. As such, the administrative legal assistant should have an appreciation of the spiritual principles of this work and an ability to work sensitively with staff, volunteers, and clients who have diverse personalities, lifestyles, cultures, political orientations, and faiths.
Proficiency in written and spoken Spanish is required, and fluency is preferred. Proficiency in other languages is a plus.
PROFESSIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- Comfort with and ability to work on computers is required for this position. We regularly utilize Microsoft Office programs, as well as Adobe Acrobat Pro, G Suite, Dropbox, and INSZoom. Familiarity with most or all of this software is highly preferred.
- Knowledge of immigration and nationality law and experience working with immigrant populations and/or filing and preparing immigration forms and cases would be great.
ADMINISTRATIVE LEGAL ASSISTANT SALARY AND BENEFITS
Salary:$45,000 per year. A full benefits package, including options for full health insurance coverage (including family members) and pension, is included, along with generous vacation and holiday policies (at least 12 holidays observed, and NIJFON is closed from Christmas Day through New Year’s Day). We are committed to making NIJFON an equitable and just place to work and are actively and continually working to increase staff compensation and benefits.
NIJFON is part of a broader network of 19 sites across the country which provides the following benefits: connection with a Consulting Attorney and the other sites; malpractice insurance coverage; and memberships to AILA, the Practicing Law Institute, NIPNLG, and ASISTA, among other professional development resources and databases. There is also an Employee Assistance Program, which provides discounts on goods and services, as well as access to free legal and mental health services. You can find more information about our network here: https://iljnetwork.org/.
It is the policy of NIJFON to recruit, employ, compensate, and promote our professional staff in a manner that does not involve segregation or discrimination based on race, color, age, sex, disability, including HIV status, or sexual orientation. NIJFON complies with all governmental non- discrimination rules for its employment locations, including those for citizenship status, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital status.
HOW TO APPLY
Those interested in applying should submit a brief note about why you would like to work with us, along with a resume, to: jobs@nijfon.org with “NIJFON Legal Administrative Assistant” in the subject line. We look forward to hearing from you!
